Ira Cohen

Partner

Ira Cohen is a partner of Henkel & Cohen. He is a member of the Florida and New York Bars and has been practicing law for over 35 years. He is rated AV Preeminent by Martindale Hubbell®. Ira has extensive experience representing corporations, business entities, and individuals in a wide variety of complex commercial disputes (through litigation and alternative dispute resolution) and in business transactions. His clients have included, among others, apparel manufacturers, architects, artists, athletes, authors, banks, beverage-makers, brewers and vintners, cargo/freight/trucking companies, comic book creators and illustrators, concert promoters, contractors, cruise-line companies, customs brokers, diving excursion companies, dentists, film production companies, flower distributors, fruit growers, furniture manufacturers, graphic designers, health spas, hoteliers, linen and textile manufacturers, musicians, music promoters, pet supply companies, physicians, publishers, race car drivers, promoters and sponsors, real estate developers, record labels, restaurants, seafood companies, flower merchants, HVAC companies, pet supply manufacturers, publishing enterprises, telecommunications companies, vessel and aircraft owners, and watch manufacturers. He practices in employment law, including dispute resolution through litigation and ADR, and also drafting and negotiation of agreements for employment, non-competition, non-disclosure, management, consulting, independent contractor, agency, marketing, promotion, and sponsorship agreements. Ira also provides general corporate representation and assistance in transactional legal matters such as: the sale and purchase of businesses, airplanes, helicopters, and vessels, as well as franchising; licensing, marketing, promotional, and sponsorship agreements.

Ira has decades of experience in the field of Intellectual Property ("IP") law encompassing such areas as copyright, trademark, and unfair competition law, as well as patent law and trade secret claims. His practice extends to the textual and visual arts, the musical arts, and entertainment in general, as well as the branding and marking of goods and/or services, franchising, and internet law. He counsels clients in the development of their intellectual property assets and rights, and to protect their businesses, books, computer programs, designs, musical compositions, graphical art works, paintings, plays, poems, screenplays, sculptures and other three-dimensional works, and sound recordings from predatory or piratical conduct, such as infringement, counterfeiting, and other species of commercial theft and tortious conduct. He handles agreements related to the assignment, development, licensing, transfer, and other disposition of IP rights, as well as royalty agreements.

Ira prepares and prosecutes intellectual property applications seeking Registrations before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He also handles foreign filings and disputes outside the U.S. He has worked on IP matters involving trademark and related issues in various Central and South American countries, including Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela, as well as the Caribbean (Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Saint Maarten\St. Martin, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montserrat, and the Dominican Republic).

Ira has litigated cases in the state and federal trial and appellate courts in Florida and New York. He has also handled various federal proceedings, depositions and/or litigation-related matters in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington State. In addition to the places and types of matters mentioned above, Mr. Cohen also has travelled to Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatamala, Paraguay, and Spain for legal and business matters.

Ira served as Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Harold J. Raby, United States Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (1982-85).

Ira obtained his Master of Laws degree (LL.M.) from New York University School of Law (1985); earlier, he earned his Juris Doctor degree from Brooklyn Law School (1981). Prior thereto, he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, from Queens College, C.U.N.Y. (1977).

Among many other interests and hobbies, Ira devotes his leisure time to: antiquarian books, antiques, coin and stamp collectibles, art and art history, classical music, family car trips in the U.S., Latin music (all genres), reading, foreign travel, medieval and renaissance European art and architecture, English comedy, Iberian gastronomy, and the culture and history of Spain. Ira speaks Spanish fluently.

Since 2008, Ira has been a member of the Faculty of the University of Phoenix, College of Business and Management, South Florida Campus. Ira, who holds both the J.D. and LL.M. degrees, teaches business law and related coursework, at both the undergraduate and graduate course levels, as well as United States constitutional law.

Practice Areas

Business Litigation

Intellectual Property

Contracts and Business Transactions

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Employment Contracts and Disputes

Creditor Rights and Judgment Collection

Admissions

The Florida Bar, 1983

The New York Bar, 1983

U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. Court of Appeals for the First, Second, Sixth, Seventh, Ninth, Eleventh, and Federal Circuits

U.S. District Courts – Northern, Southern and Middle Districts of Florida; Southern and Eastern Districts of New York

Federal Judicial Clerkship

Honorable Harold J. Raby, United States Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, 1982-85

Education

New York University, School of Law, LL.M., 1985

Brooklyn Law School, J.D., 1981

Queens College, C.U.N.Y., B.A., magna cum laude, 1977

Government Service

Administrative Law Judge, City of New York (New York, Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Richmond Counties), 1997-99.

Arbitrator, Civil Court of the City of New York (New York and Queens Counties), 1989-99.

Other Distinctions

Member of the Faculty, University of Phoenix, South Florida Campus (2008-present): Business Law, Constitutional Law

Florida Trend Legal Elite – 2009

Guest Lecturer at Brooklyn Law School on Federal practice and procedure, including training of student judicial law clerk interns

Author and\or editor of various articles and publications such as "The Linguistic Challenge for the Small Claims Division of the Civil Court of the City of New York: Spanish for Arbitrators (a Primer)" (1995)

Editor of the Portuguese version of the "Small Claims Guide for Litigants" (New York City, Civil Court, 1996)

Publications

Federal Civil Forfeiture Cases; You Can't Fight City Hall...And Even if you Win, You Lose!, Side Bar, Federal Litigation Section of the Federal Bar Association, Fall 2014 Issue, at p. 4 et seq.

This is an advertisement. The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon advertisements. Before you decide, ask us to send you free written information about our qualifications and experience. This website offers general information about our firm and general legal subjects but should not be understood as the provision of legal advice nor the creation of an attorney/client relationship.